Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Falcons Put Clamps On CMU, 63-45
January 18, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University women's basketball team used a solid team effort and stifling defense to post a 63-45 win over Central Michigan University in Mid-American Conference action at Anderson Arena Saturday afternoon (Jan. 18).
The Falcons, now 9-6 overall, have matched the victory total for all of last season. The 2001-02 edition of the Brown and Orange posted a 9-19 overall mark. BGSU is now 2-2 in MAC play this season. CMU drops to 7-8 overall and 1-3 in league play.
BGSU forced 24 CMU turnovers and held the visitors to just a .320 field-goal percentage for the game. The Falcons, leading by six points at the half (28-22), allowed the Chippewas only two field goals over the first 13:53 of the second half.
After the Falcons opened the second stanza with a pair of layups, CMU never got within single digits the rest of the way. BGSU forced the visitors into 11 turnovers in the first 13:52 of the half, and the Chippewas took only 10 shots from the field -- making two -- in that span.
The Chippewas got a Desiree Eidson free throw with 3:17 gone in the half, but did not get a field goal until a Lindy Hatfield three-pointer with 13:44 left in the game. After a Casey Manning layup with 11:32 left, CMU did not make another basket until an Amanda Elwer layup with 6:07 remaining.
Junior Lindsay Austin had a game-high 17 points, while senior Francine Miller had 15 points and tied for game honors with nine rebounds. Miller's gutty performance also included six steals and three blocked shots, tying her career bests in both categories, along with three assists in 36 minutes. Austin had seven boards and three steals for the Brown and Orange.
Senior Kim Griech joined Austin and Miller in double figures, with 12 points on the day. Bowling Green native Eidson led the Chippewas with 15 points.
The Falcons forced the Chippewas into 24 turnovers on the day, and CMU had just a 35-34 rebounding advantage on the day. BGSU had been outboarded by a combined 36 rebounds over the past two games, losses at Northern Illinois and Toledo.
The Falcons now hit the road for a Wednesday (Jan. 22) contest against preseason MAC favorite Ball State.
